Immune system research identifies possible cancer vaccine

A protein which is found on some of the body’s immune cells could one day be manipulated into recruiting the immune system to attack cancer cells, say researchers from Toronto and Britain who recently completed a study on the cells. Scientists from the London Research Institute, the University of London, the University of Toronto, and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, carried out the research and published their findings in a recent issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation. The lead author of the study, Caetano Reis e Sousa of the London Research Institute, said, “We have now found a tag on dendritic cells, called DNGR-1, which can be targeted by vaccines.” “Vaccines will carry a sample of the offending molecule and deliver it to DNGR-1 on the dendritic cells. The dendritic cell in turn will present the molecule to the armies of T cells and instruct them to attack.” Normally, the immune system does not attack cancer cells, because the cancer cells are recognized as being part of the body. Even though cancer cells are harmful, the immune system is not able to activate and destroy them, because cancer cells resemble normal healthy cells too closely. Immunotherapy strategies usually center on manipulating the immune system into recognizing cancer cells as being harmful so that the immune system can activate and kill them. The scientists who completed the research have identified a protein called DNGR-1 which they believe could, in conjunction with a genetically modified virus, signal the immune system and force it to attack and destroy cancer cells. The DNGR-1 protein, which was identified in mice, is present on immune cells called dendritic cells, which are an enormously powerful cell type which stimulates the body’s immune response to all types of pathogens, including bacteria and viruses. The dendritic cells use chemical signals to tell the immune system when and where to attack pathogens that invade the body. After having discovered the DNGR-1 protein on the surface of dendritic cells the scientists believe they could create a vaccine which includes the protein and molecules from cancer cells. They believe this might cause the body’s dendritic cells to ‘switch on’ an immune system reaction against the cancer cells. The researchers say that in addition to fighting cancer, this type of immune system-controlled therapy could perhaps be used to ‘vaccinate’ people against malaria and HIV. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)